Chang Zheng     CZ-2E /-F

China National Space Administration * China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT)*  Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology
China Academy of Space Technology

CZ-2E Launch Vehicle
is a large-scale two stage liquid launch vehicle with 4 strap-on boosters (2.25m in diameter, 15m long), developed based on the mature technologies of CZ-2C. It is mainly used for launching Low Earth Orbit (LEO) payloads, and also can be used for conducting Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) missions with proper upper stage.
The successful development of CZ-2E makes China handle the know-how of 36 key technologies, including strap-on booster, propellant-utilization system and large-scale launch pad, etc., which plays important role in Chang Zheng launch vehicle's participation in the international launch services market.
With a solid upper stage, EPKM, mounted on the second stage of CZ-2E, CZ-2E/EPKM can be used for launching GTO satellites, and had successfully sent AsiaSat-2 and Echostar-1 satellites in Nov. and Dec. of 1995. With a maneuver upper stage ETS, CZ-2E can conduct MEO Multi-launch missions. The typical LEO launch capability of CZ-2E/ETS is 6.06 tons (h=1000km, i=53deg.).

The first stage is 28.456 meters long. It employs storable propellants, i.e. N2O4 (stored in the oxidizer tank) and UDMH (stored in the fuel tank). The first stage is equipped with DaFY6-2 engine, which is composed of four engines in parallel attached to the first stage. The thrust of each engine is 75t. With the help of servo-mechanism, the four engines can swing in tangential directions for attitude-adjustment with maximum deflection angle of 10 deg.
There are 4 boosters strapped on the Stage-1. Each booster is 15.326 meters long. It employs storable propellants, i.e. N2O4  (stored in the oxidizer tank) and UDMH (stored in the fuel tank). Each booster is equiped with DaFY5-1 engine, whose thrust is 75t. The nozzle of the engine is fixed.
The second stage is extended to 10.448 meters long. It employs storable propellants, i.e. N2O4 (in the oxidizer tank) and UDMH ( in the fuel tank). There are one main engine (DaFY20-1) and four vernier engines (DaFY21-1) on the second stage. The thrust of the main engine is 75t, and the thrust of each vernier engine is 4.8t. The nozzle of the main engine is fixed, and the nozzles of four vernier engines can swing in tangential directions for attitude-adjustment with maximum deflection angle of 60 deg.
ETS is a three-axis stabilized upper stage compatible with two-stage CZ-2E. ETS consists of Payload Adapter and Orbital Maneuver System (OMS). The OMS consists of main structure, solid motor (SM), control system, reaction control system (RCS) and telemetry system. The total impulse of the solid motor depends on the specific mission requirements.

The fairing consists of dome, forward cone section, cylindrical section and reverse cone section. The dome shell and forward cone section are made of fiberglass structure. The cylindrical section is made of aluminum honeycomb sandwich structure. The reverse cone section is made of chemical-milled aluminum structure. The typical CZ-2E/ETS fairing is 4.2m in diameter, and 10.448m in length. The length of the fairing can be adjusted according to different mission requirements. The maximum Fairing static envelope is 3.8m in diameter.

CZ-2E injects SC/ETS stack into a transfer orbit, ETS is ignited at the apogee and enters the target orbit. Then ETS re-orients the stack according to the requirements and deploys the spacecrafts.

BEIJING, 2009, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China plans to launch the Shenzhou-8 and Shenzhou-9 spacecraft in 2011.
China plans to launch an unmanned space module "Tian Gong" into orbit as early as the end of 2010, which is expected to dock with the unmanned Shenzhou-8 in 2011. It would be the country's first space docking.
If the space module and spacecraft dock successfully, the country will launch in the same year the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft with taikonauts aboard.
Liang Xiaohong, vice president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, told Xinhua  the module and two spacecraft will be carried by Long March 2F rockets and launched between the fourth quarter of 2010 and October, 2011. Shenzhou-9 will also dock with the module, Liang said. "The two dockings, one unmanned and one manned, will lay a solid foundation for the setup of a space station," Liang said.